FBI to store records at airport

April 8, 2013

MARTINSBURG - The FBI wants to temporarily store records on the 167th Airlift Wing's base at the Eastern Regional Airport.

Maj. John Poland told members of the Eastern Regional Airport Authority during their meeting Tuesday that the FBI's records management division wants to store 12 cargo trailers filled with frozen documents at the base for about a year.

He said the documents were damaged by flooding in Washington and were frozen to preserve them. He said the FBI wants to try to salvage some of the documents and dispose of the rest.

The documents currently are stored in a facility in Alexandria, Va., Poland explained, but the cost of keeping them there is high, so the FBI wants to move them to the base at the airport, because there would be no cost to store them there and they would be secure.

Storing the refrigerated trailers at the base would not affect the 167th in any way, Poland said.

Under the National Guard Bureau's joint-use agreement with the Airport Authority for the 167th to use the airport, permission must be obtained from the authority to allow a non-U.S. Air Force entity to use the base, Poland said.

Airport Authority members unanimously granted permission to store the trailers on the 167th's side of the airport.

The 167th also must get permission from the National Guard Bureau, Poland said. The NGB is the federal agency that oversees National Guard bases across the country.

Also at Tuesday's meeting, Airport Manager Bill Walkup said he had met with Jason Kuhn, the owner of Aviation Solutions, and served him with default papers for being $12,000 behind in land lease payments.

In February 2011, Aviation Solutions bought out of bankruptcy the former Tiger Aircraft assembly plant off Novak Drive in the airport's business park. Aviation Solutions leased the land from the Airport Authority.

Kuhn planned to manufacture airplane parts at the plant as well as do aircraft maintenance, repair and storage, he told The Journal during an earlier interview. He was hoping to obtain 100 percent set-aside contracts for veteran-owned businesses with the federal government. He is a U.S. Navy veteran.

The West Virginia Economic Development Authority authorized Aviation Solutions to issue up to $3.2 million in bonds for the operation.

Walkup and Rick Wachtel, chairman of the Airport Authority, said Kuhn told them he had a possible buyer or subtenant for the property.

If the delinquent payment is not made by April 18, the Airport Authority could take court action to take control of the property.